Simao confident of rare derby win over Real

MADRID: Atletico Madrid believe a repeat of their performance against English leaders Chelsea could see the team win the Spanish capital derby against Real Madrid today. 

Atletico fell out of the Champions League following Tuesday’s 2-2 draw against Chelsea, but the club played one of their best games of the season under coach Quique Sanchez Flores, who has been in charge for three games since replacing Abel Resino. 

Atletico are confident they can earn a first derby victory in over 10 years at the Vicente Calderon Stadium against a Real side who will again be without the injured Cristiano Ronaldo. 

“How we are playing in this moment, it’s obligatory to take the three points,” Atletico winger Simao Sabrosa said. “We know we’re talking about a really strong opponent, but let’s see if for once we can beat Madrid at our stadium.” 

Despite the absence of the former Manchester United forward, Real’s own performances have picked up in the last week with Saturday’s league win over Getafe and then a 1-1 draw at AC Milan on Tuesday, following a home loss to the Serie A side in their previous Champions League game. 

“The best thing is that we’ve demonstrated in the last two games that we want to vindicate ourselves after the disastrous week we had,” Real striker Gonzalo Higuain said. “It’s important to take advantage of Atletico’s lacklustre moment because we’re only one point back of the leaders.” 

After nine rounds, Barcelona lead with 23 points, one better than Madrid. Sevilla are third with 19 points and Valencia have 18. Atletico are 18th with seven points. 

Barcelona welcome fifth-place Mallorca to the Nou Camp today looking for improvement after two straight draws, including a 0-0 result at Rubin Kazan on Wednesday which left the European champions trailing in third place in their Champions League group. 

Daniel Alves returned from a leg injury to play against the Russian champions, but Lionel Messi’s form continues to frustrate fans. The winger has scored just once in six games and his play has lacked spark since returning from a deflating World Cup qualifying spell with Argentina. 

With Messi’s drop-off in play, Barcelona have struggled to put games away, with the Spanish champions drawing two of their past three league games. But Mallorca have yet to record an away win despite their impressive start. 

Now that Sevilla have qualified for the knockout round of the Champions League, they can focus their attention on staying in the league race with Barcelona and Real when they play Villarreal tomorrow. 

The “Yellow Submarine” have won their last two league games after a winless start, but will be without Spain midfielder Santi Cazorla (hernia) and striker Nilmar (suspended). 

Elsewhere, Racing Santander coach Juan Carlos Mandia is under pressure to beat Athletic Bilbao tomorrow. — AP